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Two-Bit Mathews
Keith "Two-Bit" Mathews '''(spelled '''Matthews in the film credits) is eighteen and a half, and still a Junior in high school. and a supporting character in ''The Outsiders''. He is the "oldest and the wisecracker of the bunch." He's the 2nd oldest, behind Darry (who's 20), and is known for stealing. He makes people laugh and has a very fun personality, along with being lazy, often being teased for not having a job. The nickname for his nickname is Two, and he does not like his real name. He is called Two-Bit because he always has to add in his "two bits". The Outsiders Two-Bit first appears when he and the rest of the gang save Ponyboy from several Socs that jumped him. Unlike Ponyboy's oldest brother Darrel or Soda's friend Steve Randle, Two-Bit does not chastise Ponyboy for walking home alone from the movies; he jokes about becoming Pony's personal bodyguard, and says that he will join Dally, Johnny and Pony at the Nightly Double drive-in movie theater if he doesn't get too drunk. He is seen drunkenly pulling up the skirt of a woman, and laughing hysterically after she slaps him across the face. He later joins Cherry, Marcia, Johnny and Pony after grabbing Johnny and Marcia from behind. He gets along well with Marcia, and later the three greasers walk the two Soc girls home... until the girls' boyfriends Bob and Randy spot them and arrive in a blue Mustang. A fight nearly breaks out between the two parties as Randy and Two-Bit attempt to yell over one another, until Cherry chooses to go with them, saying that she hates fights. Two-Bit walks back to Johnny's house with Johnny and Pony, and discards a piece of paper with Marcia's phone number written on it - he says that it was probably a fake number, and that he was dumb for even asking her for it. He departs a short while later, and is not seen again until Pony arrives back home after the church fire. He grabs Pony and swings him around, causing him to drop the eggs he was cooking in a pan. He is seen watching Mickey Mouse ''on the television, and stays with Ponyboy when Steve, Soda and Darrel head off to their jobs. He and Ponyboy later see the blue Mustang from earlier with Randy and several other Socs inside it - but this time, the Socs aren't looking for a fight. Randy wants to talk with Pony. Two-Bit begins insulting the other Socs whilst two unnamed greasers watch and laugh at his jokes. His loud insults cause Pony and Randy to talk in the quietness of the Mustang. After this, he and Pony visit Johnny and Dally in the hospital. They see Johnny is lying face down, with a broken back and burns covering his body. He shows him the newspaper where Johnny, Pony and Dally are described as being " 'delinquent' youths turned heroes". He runs down to a gift shop to buy Johnny another copy of ''Gone With The Wind, ''returning shortly after, although Johnny soon passes out after getting angry at his abusive and neglectful mother coming to see him. Two-Bit gives the nurse the book and tells her to make sure she gets it. They leave the room, and Johnny's mother is angry that "he'd rather see these no-good punks than his own mother", but Two-Bit has had enough - "No wonder he hates your guts, you don't even care about him, you damn drunk! You go straight to hell, you go right to hell!" he yells at her before walking to Dally's room with Pony, although in the novel Pony pulls him away before he can insult Johnny's mother. They enter Dally's room, and he is very much glad to see them - he asks for Two-Bit's knife, and says "Let's do it for Johnny, man! We'll do it for Johnny!" after a short discussion about Johnny's condition and the upcoming rumble with the Socs. He takes the knife, and Two-Bit and Pony leave, knowing not to talk to Dally when he has that sort of fiery boldness in his eyes. At the bus stop, he says that Ponyboy doesn't seem after feeling Pony's forehead and says that Darry will kill him if Two-Bit knows he's sick and lets him fight anyway, and rides the bus home with him. After leaving the bus, the two see Cherry, and he asks about the Socs - she says that there will be no weapons, and that it will be a fair fight. She wants to talk to Pony, and after the conversation the greasers go back home. He later participates in the rumble, heroically beating down several opponents whilst sustaining many injuries himself. He and the other greasers cheer and cry out in victory as the Socs flee, and he and everyone in the gang but Dally and Pony head back to the Curtis' house. After Pony arrives home with the news that Johnny has died, Two-Bit is devastated, as is everyone else, but doesn't say a word. As the greasers sprint to the park to help Dally hide from the cops after he robs a grocery store, Two-Bit can only helplessly scream ''"He's just a kid!" as Dally is shot to death by the police and his corpse crumples under a streetlight. Physical Appearance Two-Bit Mathews was around six feet tall, stocky in build, and was very proud of his long, rust-colored sideburns. He has grey eyes and was always wearing a wide grin. In The Outsiders ''novel, Two-Bit's hair is described as 'rust colored.' In the film, however, his hair appears to be light brown or dark blond, rather than rust colored, although he still has his prided, long sideburns. Characteristics Two-Bit is a wise-cracking, fun-loving, kind of crazy guy. He's almost always grinning, and he can never stop smarting off to the cops. Ponyboy once states, "He really couldn't help it. Everything he said was so irresistibly funny, that he just had to let the police in on it to brighten up their dull lives" (which was how he put it to Ponyboy once). He gets drunk often, but it's kind of hard to tell when he is from when he's sober. From what is shown in the film, Two-Bit enjoys watching ''Mickey Mouse, a cartoon by Walt Disney, and he wears two shirts with Mickey Mouse on the front: he wears an orange one with sleeves, and a gray sleeveless shirt. Category:Males Category:Alive Category:Novel characters Category:Film characters Category:Series characters Category:Mathews family Category:Greasers